U Tin Moe (; ) (1933-2007) was a Burmese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Early life

Tin Moe (Maung Ba Gyan) was born in the village of Kanmyè in

Taungtha Township Taungtha Township is a township of Myingyan District in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). Its principal town and administrative seat is Taungtha. The township covers an area of and as of 2014 it had a population of 216,399 people. Histor ...

Myingyan Myingyan (, ) is a city and district in the Mandalay Division of central Myanmar, previously, it was a district in the Meiktila Division of Upper Burma. It is currently the capital of Myingyan Township and lies along the National Highway 2. ...

Mandalay Division Mandalay Region (, ; formerly Mandalay Division) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It is located in the center of the country, bordering Sagaing Region and Magway Region to the west, Shan State to the east, and Bago Region and Kayin State ...

. He received his early education at a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastery, and attended school at the town of Yezagyo. His reputation preceded him when he went on to study at the University of Mandalay at the request of faculty members who had been impressed by an essay he wrote for the matriculation exam. He was already a published poet under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

''Kan Myè'' Nan Myint Nwe in the '' Ludu Journal'' of Mandalay.

Fame

In 1956 Tin Moe collected his poems into a book titled ''Hpan Mee Ain'' (). It won him the National

Literary Award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...

for Poetry in 1959. He continued to write poems and essays, and became editor of poetry at the '' Ludu Daily'' in Mandalay. He also worked for a time as the editor of ''Pei Hpu Hlwar'' magazine. His early poems were influenced by

Min Thu Wun Thiri Pyanchi Min Thu Wun (; 10 February 1909 – 15 August 2004) was a Burmese poet, writer and scholar who helped launch a new age literary movement called Khit-San (Testing the Times) in Burma. He is the father of Htin Kyaw, president of M ...

and Zawgyi, who in their time pioneered a new age

literary movement Literary movements are a way to divide literature into categories of similar philosophical, topical, or aesthetic features, as opposed to divisions by genre or period. Like other categorizations, literary movements provide language for comparing ...

while still at

Rangoon University The University of Yangon (also Yangon University; , ; formerly Rangoon College, University of Rangoon and Rangoon Arts and Sciences University), located in Kamayut, Yangon, is the oldest university in Myanmar's modern education system and the b ...

. They also inspired him to write poems for children. Some of these were later turned into songs for children and also included in school texts.

Politics

The political upheaval of 1988 in Burma was a turning point in Tin Moe's life. He responded to the criticism of the political content of his later poems such as ''Sobs'' and ''New Pages'' by referring to

Thakin Kodaw Hmaing Thakin Kodaw Hmaing (, ; 23 March 1876 – 23 July 1964) is considered one of the greatest Burmese poets, writers and political leaders in the 20th century history of Burma. He is regarded as the Father of Burmese nationalist and peace mov ...

whose patriotic and satirical poetry spawned a powerful

anti-colonial Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...

while Burma was under

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

. He had dedicated one of his earliest poems to his great hero, titled ''To Grandpa Thakin Kodaw Hmaing''. An active supporter of the

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

movement, Tin Moe was imprisoned in 1991 for four years by Burma's military government for his activities. His work was banned, and after his release he left for the West and moved to the

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as an exile. He traveled through the U.S.,

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, and

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attending literary events. In 2004, the

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honoured him with the

Prince Claus Award The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awa ...

. He died on January 22, 2007, in his home away from home in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, at the age of 73.

Notes

External links

Tin Moe's Works in Burmese
''MoeMaKa Media''
''Yindèga gabya''
''Poems from the Heart'' by Tin Moe, in Burmese, September 2000 to March 2006, ''New Era Journal''

The Power of Culture,

Prince Claus Fund The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Award ...

, 2004
Burmese Legendary Poet Tin Moe Dies

VOA News Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internationa ...

, 24 January 2007
Poems by Tin Moe (1933 - 2007)

Prince Claus Awards The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awar ...

Brief biography

''The Shut Door'' - Poem by Tin Moe translated by Win Pe
''MoeMaKa'', January 15, 2009 {{Authority control 1933 births 2007 deaths Burmese emigrants to the United States Burmese writers Burmese male poets People from Mandalay Region Burmese exiles Burmese prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Myanmar Burmese democracy activists 20th-century Burmese poets 20th-century Burmese male writers Mandalay University alumni